I believe it was the summer of 1984.  With the Soviet Union boycotting the Olympics, the United States was mopping up on the rest of the world in the Los Angeles, and Carl Lewis and Mary Lou Retton were on the front of Wheaties.  Led by Jack Morris, Kirk Gibson, Alan Trammell, Lou Whitaker, Lance […]

From what I’ve observed, God works in two ways:  all-at-once and not-all-at-once.  Because this may seem either obvious or contradictory, I’ll explain.  (This is a blog afterall.) Let’s start with the creation of the universe.  First off, how long was God planning it?  For an eternity before time? Or did he improvise like a painter, […]

There is a chimpanzee off the main square in downtown West Plains.  You heard right.  A chimpanzee.  Actually, there are two.  There are two chimpanzees that reside in a giant outdoor cage attached to a Victorian painted lady.  It’s quite a spectacle.You should hear them during a storm.  It’s like something out of Julius Caesar, […]

Quite possibly, we have reached the end of the beginning. Our list of lists has stabilized, and we are now crossing out more things than we are adding. (Don’t you love that feeling of running a black marker across an item on your agenda!) We have now consolidated our boys ranch building to only three […]

Some little things are big things.  Like toilet paper.  Toilet paper is a little thing, but without it, you’re in big trouble.One week ago, we were about to be in some big trouble.  We had been so preoccupied with issues like insurance and intake, that we had run dangerously low on White Cloud.  Each of […]

Recently, during one of our weekend work extravaganzas, we had to move a pool table.  Ever been involved in moving one of these beasts?  If not, count your lucky stars.  It’s nothing I want to do again, any time soon.The first thing you need is about 6 guys.  No more, no less.  If you have […]

It’s official!  Today, Whetstone began “sharpening” its first boy.  In our first ceremony, during which he symbolically branded his own pair of leather work gloves, we began the process of refining through holy fire.For privacy reasons, I won’t share much about him right now.  Just imagine him as your teenage son, or brother, or nephew […]

Twelve giant walnut trees stand guard at Whetstone Boys Ranch, their huge arms framing almost any view from the house.  In addition to providing shade and shelter, they are beginning to take on the added responsibility of therapy for our boys…or for the time being, boy.One activity we’ve begun since moving operations from downtown West […]

On the Whetstone Boys Ranch kitchen counter, there sits a notebook which we have dubbed the “The Book of Firsts.”   Since this last week was our first week, we made a lot of entries.Below, I have copied one of the first journal entries from our first boy.  As his teacher, I am proud of his […]

We like to go on long walks at Whetstone Boys Ranch.  Long walks are good for the soul.  In addition to pondering the meaning of life and the mysteries of nature, we enjoy looking for signs of deer.  More specifically, we like looking for signs of “the big buck.”He’s out there…teasing us.We sometimes see this […]